


Warm and Furry

by DivineVarod



Category: Red Dwarf
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Loneliness, M/M, Pets, Pre-Series, Pre-Slash, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-02-20
Packaged: 2018-05-21 17:04:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6059149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DivineVarod/pseuds/DivineVarod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lister was not as good at keeping his secret as he thought he was, which was just as well for Rimmer who made an unexpected friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Warm and Furry

Dave Lister was not as good at keeping his secret as he thought he was. Smuggling cats on board of a mining ship was all very well, but looking after them was quite another; especially when they were pregnant.  
  
Arnold J. Rimmer had noticed rustling and faint meows and squeaks for the last two days so wasn't as surprised as he would have been otherwise when finding the cat Lister had baptised Frankenstein peaking out of one if his boots one day.

“Well, well. What have we here?” Rimmer smiled, squatting next to the animal. “Has that stupid goit smuggled you on board?”

Shaking his head Rimmer lifted the animal from his footwear and sat with it in his bunk.  
  
Rimmer loved cats. When he was in IO House he had made friends with a stray that often roamed the boarding-school's gardens. It was the only living creature that had been nice to him when he was there and he often fed it scraps from the meagre meals he had.  
  
Having not been able to cuddle up to pets (or anyone for that matter) being stuck on the mining ships for years Rimmer was instantly taken by this tiny stowaway.  
  
“What's he been feeding you? Just milk I bet …” He muttered, stroking the pets shiny coat.  
  
“Oh dear, you're pregnant, aren't you?” He suddenly realised, feeling Frankenstein's tummy.  
  
The Second Technician couldn't believe Lister had been so irresponsible: not just a cat but a _pregnant_ cat! There were strict quarantine rules on board of the ship and if the cat were to be found it would be destroyed. Rimmer, feeling instantly protective of his new-found friend, knew he would have to make sure the animal remained safe. The only problem, he feared, was that Lister couldn't know he knew because then he'd have to report him. He couldn't conspire against the Captain with someone below him, he'd lose his authority over the silly Scouser.

So Rimmer now had his own secret, a secret he adored. When Lister went out with his friends at night he would cuddle and pet the small feline for ages. The Second Technician soon found that Frankenstein (though Rimmer called her Maria after a character from his favourite musical) especially loved it when he would tickle her belly and gently scratch her behind her ears. Sometimes, when he knew Lister wouldn't come back till late next day, the cat slept with him in his bunk. Hearing the warm and furry feline purr softly next to him Rimmer, for the first time in twelve years, didn't feel alone on the ship.  
  
One night Rimmer hadn't been careful enough. Lister had a day of and, unable to get anyone to assist him, he had been forced to do all his shifts alone. Coming back to his room exhausted Rimmer had taken out the cat from her hiding place, fed her and curled up in his bunk for a cuddle. Knowing Lister would be back around midnight he had planned to put the pet back at about eleven, but had fallen asleep snuggling up to her.  
  
Returning to the bunkroom nicely drunk Lister was treated to the startling sight of Rimmer asleep on his bunk fully dressed with Frankenstein nesting in his curls. For a few seconds he thought he might have alcohol poisoning and was now hallucinating. But he hadn't drank that much, he reminded himself.  
  
“Rimmer, what ya doing with me cat?” He begun, then stopped dead when he saw a little bowl on the floor. His first instinct had been to noisily wake the sleeping man and have a laugh at his expense. But now, having thought about it, he was glad he hadn't.  
  
Rimmer must have known for a while, he understood. For a brief moment he wondered why he'd never mentioned it. Then he remembered: this was Rimmer. He probably thought conspiring with him, a lowly Third Technician, undermined his authority.  
  
The fact that the Second Technician had not reported Frankenstein and seemed rather attached to her made Lister look at Rimmer differently. He actually looked rather cute like this. If it made the man happy and kept the cat safe and well fed Lister wouldn't make a thing out of it, he decided.  
So instead he hopped into his bunk and pretended he knew nothing the following morning.

Over the next few weeks Rimmer and Lister played a silly game of hide and seek keeping the same secret. Lister fed the cat milk when Rimmer was out, while the other man sneakily fed the cat any food he could smuggle into the bunkroom. Both made sure the other would never know, both would have loved to share the secret with the other.  
Neither ever did.  
  
Frankenstein/Maria had great fun when she later spoke about these events to her children, grandchildren and great, great grandchildren. It always surprised her breed how these two silly humans could have been good friends but let fear and pride win over happiness.  
  
Three million years later a very distant grandchild still wondered the same thing.


End file.
